BUSHART and SECOND SKIN Project

John Lever will be playing live with his band a set of Chameleons classics (songs from the period 1981 to 1987) on 19th September 2009 at the Manchester Academy. Project name: Second Skin. It won´t be like the real Chameleons, but it will surely be a fantastic experience for the artists and the audience.

More info in Second Skin Myspace Website and in the Chameleons Official Site.

On the following video, taken from Youtube, you can watch BUSHART performing a version of Soul in Isolation. The sound and video capture is from audience.

We also remember you BUSHART released last year Yesterday is History, their debut album. Yesterday is History is full of energy and tension, mainly due to the fantastic guitar work and the strength of the vocals. This is one of the best and most interesting albums of the side projects of the Chameleons members. Don´t miss it.

On the following video, which is also available on BUSHART MySpace Web Site, you can listen to Fear, one of the highlights of their debut album. Enyoy it!

Update: According to a recent post of John Lever in the Chameleons Official Site, Mark Burgess is joining the Second Skin Project for the show of Sept, the 19th at the Academy. So, this will be the only opportunity to be as closer as possible to the original Chameleons´sound. This won´t be like having the four members of The Chameleons playing together again, but still a fantastic experience. Don´t miss it!

Tickets are available here.

The MIDLIFE DEMENTIA SHOW

From left to right: Andy Clegg, Andy Whitaker & Colin SMith

Andy Clegg, Andy Whitaker and Colin Smith (the three of them were members of Music for Aborigines in the 80´s and the two Andys also founded The Sun and The Moon with the help of Mark Burgess and John Lever) have a Comedy Show in Manchester Radio, called The Midlife Dementia Show.

Andy Whitaker has his own career as an actor (under the alias of of Andy Moore) and has appeared on some TV programmes like THE BILL, CORONATION STREET, EMMERDALE, THE ROYAL and THE ROYAL TODAY). For more details about Andy´s TV appearances, visit this link.

Colin Smith is also an actor who has appeared in over 70 plays; he has also directed some plays and he has recently written his own play called "Heaven Knows I´m Misserable Now", to be performed at The Lyceum next year.

If you want to watch/listen to any of the Midlife Dementia Show, which is aired the first Tuesday of every month from 7pm until 10pm on MANCHESTER RADIO ONLINE, please visit these links:

http://themidlifedementiashow.mypodcast.com/
http://www.myspace.com/dementiashow

Script of The Bridge Merchandising

According to John in a post on the Official Site, there is now available in www.regoid.com a limited edition of 250 copies of prints of Script of The Bridge in A2 format, signed and numbered by Reg Smithies.

The printing has been made on 120 gsm paper.

More info in www.regoid.com

As you may see from the picture, the rework of the art of The Script of the Bridge is slightly different from the original one, with darker colours and the child´s face is sadder.

Which one do you prefer?


Above: new rework of the SOTB Cover
Below: the original art

THE REEGS Definitive Compilation

The Reegs will release this summer a definitive compilation with all their tracks from their previous albums ‘Return of the Sea Monkeys’ and ‘Rock The Magic Rock’ plus b-sides and alternative versions. Artwork by Reg Smithies.

This is a good oportunity to have all their discography if you weren´t able to buy their previous albums and singles.

The double CD contains 29 tracks and can be ordered through Blue Apple Music or Red Sun Records:

Disc 1
01. See My Friends
02. Is There A Mother-In-Law In The Club
03. Savage Garden
04. Chorus Of The Lost
05. Pond Life
06. Start To See
07. These Days
08. Turn It Up
09. All Tomorrows Parties
10. Jesus Came To Manchester
11. Snooker Hooligan
12. In Disbelief
13. Oil And Water
14. As You Leave
15. Out Of Body Experience

Disc 2
01. JJ180
02. Blind Denial
03. Goodbye World
04. The Dream Police
05. The Nasty Side
06. The Dolphins Enemy
07. In Disbelief (Radio Session)
08. Oil And Water (Radio Session)
09. Running To A Standstill
10. The Nasty Side Instrumental
11. You Told Me Before
12. Bosnia 2009
13. Subject To Status
14. The Last Time

The Reegs were formed by guitarrists Dave Fielding and Reg Smithies after the first demise of The Chameleons in 1987, with the aim to explore new sounds. They recruited Gary Lavery and decided to have a drum machine instead of a real drummer. Their first release is a version of The Kinks´ See My Friends edited in a tribute compilation to this band and as a curiosity, it features Reg Smithies singing.

The band was named after an Alien race which appear in the book Now Wait for Last Year by Sci-Fi writer Philip K. Dick, the author of works like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner), Minority Report, Total Recall and Paycheck.

More info on The Reegs Myspace.

BLACK SWAN LANE New Album

Black Swan Lane, the project founded by Jack Sobel, originally of The Messengers, and which groups members of many different bands (like Mark Burgess, Andy Whitaker and Andy Clegg) has released a second album called The Sun and The Moon Sessions.

According to Black Swan Lane MySpace Web Site: "In November of 2008, Sobel joined the original members of the Post Punk band, The Sun and the Moon to play the first US date. Before and after the concert, some magic happened and Black Swan Lane will be releasing a new 18 track album in early 2009 entitled The Sun and the Moon Sessions. Featured on the new album are band members: Mark Burgess, Jack Sobel, Andy Clegg, Andy Whitaker, Kwasi Asante, John Kolbeck & Jimmy Oakes."


The new album and their previous one, A long Way from Home can be purchased on BSL Official Site or in Red Sun Records.

On the following link you can watch a video of Age End, the end title of the new album by BSL

And this is for all Chameleons fans. BSL playing Live Perfume Garden with Mark Burgess at the bass and vocals. Enjoy!

Perfume Garden

CHAMELEONS Autobiography

The Chameleons´ Biography written by Mark Burgess himself, has been released in a hard back book of 782 pages. The title is View From a Hill, and there are still autographed copies, which can be ordered from Mark Burgess Site. You can also order it through Red Sun Records and Amazon.

BUSHART debut Album

The debut album by BUSHART, the new band of John Lever, has been finally released. It´s called Yesterday is History. BUSHART will be playing live in October, the 10th at the Manchester Academy. For further details, please see the note below by John Lever himself which can be also found on the Chameleons Official Web Site.

On that note, John also mentions he is not able to join the Gig the reunited SUN & MOON is playing at The Ritz

Wednesday, 14th May 2008: YESTERDAY is HISTORY IS HERE!!

YES ITS FINALLY HERE!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ORDER A COPY OF MY NEW ALBUM
SIMPLY LOGON TO WWW.MYSPACE.COM/CLUBCHAMELEON OR WWW.MYSPACE.COM/BUSHARTMUSIC AND CLICK ON THE BUY NOW BUTTON, IT WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH THE PAYMENT PROCESS, EASY! ALSO BUSHART`S DEBUT GIG WILL BE AT MCR ACADEMY 3 (HOP & GRAPE) ON FRIDAY 10TH OF OCTOBER, TICKETS ARE GOING TO BE £5 FROM PICCADILLY BOX OFFICE AND MCR ACADEMY, ALSO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BUY TICKETS VIA THE MYSPACE SITES FROM THIS WEEK, THE TICKETS WILL BE £5 +£1.50 P+P!!

ALSO ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE, AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW I WAS ASKED TO DO THE MCR V CANCER GIG AT THE RITZ WITH THE SUN AND THE MOON, BUT I HAVE TO DECLINE THE OFFER, DOWN TO BAND POLITICS I SUPPOSE, BUT AS A RESULT CAN`T DO THE GIG, MANY APOLOGIES TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS, BUT IT REALLY IS A NO GO, APOLOGIES ONCE AGAIN!
JOHN.X

To listen to some songs of the debut album by BUSHART, please visit the BUSHART MySpace Site

SOTB 25th Anniversary Remastered Edition

The 25th Anniversary Remastered Edition of Script Of the Bridge, which includes in a 2nd Disc a Live Performance in Bremen 1983, has been finally released on April 2008 by Blue Apple Music.

This is the Track List:

Disc: 1 (Remastered)
01. Don’t Fall
02. Here Today
03. Monkeyland
04. Second Skin
05. Up The Down Escalator
06. Less Than Human
07. Pleasure and Pain
08. Thursday’s Child
09. As High As You Can Go
10. A Person Isn’t Safe Anywhere These Days
11. Paper Tigers
12. View From A Hill

Disc: 2 (Live 1983)
01. In Shreds (previously unreleased version)
02. Dear Dead Days (previously unreleased version)
03. Things I Wish I’d Said (previously unreleased version)
04. Don’t Fall (live, Bremen 1983)
05. Here Today (live, Bremen 1983)
06. Thursday’s Child (live, Bremen 1983)
07. A Person Isn’t Safe Anywhere These Days (live, Bremen 1983)
08. Less Than Human (live, Bremen 1983)
09. Pleasure and Pain (live, Bremen 1983)
10. Second Skin (live, Bremen 1983)
11. Paper Tigers (live, Bremen 1983)
12. Monkeyland (live, Bremen 1983)
13. Singing Rule Britannia (live, Bremen 1983)
14. Up The Down Escalator (live, Bremen 1983)
15. View From A Hill (live, Bremen 1983)

THE SUN & THE MOON Reunion

Fantastic news for all the SUN & MOON fans. April 2008 sees the reunion of three of the four original members for a set of acoustic gigs. Mark Burgess, Andy Clegg & Andy Whitaker join hands again and the magic will surely flow...

Dates and Venues:

- 20 April with a short set at The Legendary Manchester Busker 20th Anniversary night (1)

-14 May at the Retro Bar in Manchester

-16 The LGM Music Venue, Earlestown (between Manchester and Liverpool)

(1)For a couple of videos (Picture of England and Arabs&Americans) of S&M playing Live at LMB, please visit the The Legendary Manchester Busker Web Site.

Unluckily John Lever will not be able to join them so Achim Faerber will be playing drums. Is it possible the future will bring new compositions by these great artist working together again? Who knows...

Stefan, a fan from The Chameleons UK and related projects informed us that on the following link there are available in mp3 format the Manchester Radio Online Sessions of The Sun and The Moon.

ASCENSION Live DVD

Ascension DVD will be released on June, the 26th. This Chameleons official double DVD release presents live footage from The Chameleons playing Live at The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, in 2002. This is the track list:

DISC 1:Swamp Thing / A Person Isn’t Safe Anywhere These Days / Pleasure and Pain / Here Today / Less Than Human / Dangerous Land / Intrigue in Tangiers / Anyone Alive? / Indiana / Tears / Soul In Isolation / Perfume Garden / Miracles and Wonders / Caution / Second Skin / View From A Hill / One Flesh / Don’t Fall / Splitting In Two

DISC 2:The Healer / Nathan’s Phase / Pleasure and Pain / Less Than Human / Intrigue In Tangiers / Seriocity / Soul In isolation / On The Beach / Is It Any Wonder / Thursday’s Child / All Around / Second Skin / Moonage Daydream / View From A Hill / Bonus Track: One Flesh.

Total Running Time: 3h 30 min aprox.

The DVD is NTSC region 0 Format, and it can be ordered directly through Paypal in Blue Apple Music Web Site.